Review: Everybody Wants Some!!
"Let the good times roll" seems to be the modus operandi for Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!!, a film billed as a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused but which could also serve as a continuation of Boyhood.
The setting is a small Texas university. The date is August 28, 1980. It's a new school year and classes are set to start in three days. Drinking, partying, chasing girls, and generally having a good time are the order of the day for the group of baseball players who serve as the audience's tour guide for this freewheeling tale. There's Jake (Blake Jenner), a promising freshman pitcher newly who more than recalls Boyhood's Mason (seen departing for college at the end of that film). He's eyed warily by the team's captain McReynolds (Tyler Hoechlin), who tells him in no uncertain terms that he hates pitchers - "We'll be teammates, not friends." - and whose insane super-competitiveness knows no bounds, though he is possessed of a surprisingly upstanding nature. McReynolds is undoubtedly dipped in crazy but he's not as certifiable as Jay Niles (Juston Street), who might be a touch too over-the-top and is best in extremely tiny doses.
Others are friendlier, such as pothead philosopher Willoughby (Wyatt Russell), who encourages him to "Embrace your inner strange. [That's when] you bring who you are, not what they want." Then there's Finn (Glen Powell), who might just be the breakout character here with his cleverly adaptable smooth talk. He's at home anywhere, whether it be at a disco, a hoedown, or checking out the punk music scene. He's just doing what he needs to do to have a good time and get laid, he tells Jake. It's all about adaptability and indeed no one is more able to adapt than Finn, who can reel in the ladies with false modesty about his genitals or thoughts about feminism or by simply breaking down how his pals move in for the kill. Powell, whose biggest exposure so far has been on television's Scream Queens, is fantastic here and one hopes that his scene-stealing appearance here bodes a bright future.
Linklater affectionately observes his characters as they dance, drink and kiss the night away. Their socialising takes us through the school's spectrum of cliques - from the punks to the performing arts majors, one of whom, Beverly (Zoey Deutch), becomes a love interest for Jake. Though the predominantly loose narrative allows for Linklater's trademark sneak attacks - dropping insightful observations amidst seemingly innocuous ramblings - it is a mild relief to be able to linger on one story strand especially since the terrific and winning Jenner and the charming Deutch share such a sweet chemistry.
Though the film might amble a bit too leisurely for some tastes, there's no denying how enjoyable it often is. The period design alone is worth the price of admission. Then there's the amazing soundtrack, which features Blondie, Foreigner, Van Halen (whose song provides the film's title), a gloriously punk version of the Gilligan's Island theme song, and The Sugar Hill Gang whose "Rapper's Delight" is sung along to by the gang in one of the film's best moments, one that encapsulates not just the film's mantra to live in the moment but also to "finding the tangents within the framework" and letting the experience find you.
Everybody Wants Some!!
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Written by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Glen Powell, Wyatt Russell, Will Brittain, Juston Street, Temple Baker, Forrest Vickery, Austin Amelio, Quinton Johnson, Dora Madison Bruge, Tanner Kalina
